Arnab Goswami, the founding member of Republic TV, while discussing the silence by ‘liberals’ on the lynching of three people in Maharashtra’s Palghar on Monday, announced his resignation from the Editors’ Guild of India.
Goswami targeted veteran journalist Shekhar Gupta, who is the president of the Guild, for not speaking up against the spread of fake news during this coronavirus pandemic.
“Shekhar Gupta, you hear from me first. Whatever remaining credibility of the Editors’ Guild of India, has been destroyed by its abject silence on a series of fake news stories. It has been a self-serving organisation,” he said.
He then asked all the other panelists to pause briefly and continued:
“I have been a member of the Editors’ Guild of India for a long time and I, on live television, resign for its absolute compromise on editorial ethics, for being an organisation for operation only for personal interests. I accuse you Shekhar Gupta of leading the compromise on journalism for not speaking on incidents like this.”Arnab Goswami, Founding Member of Republic TV
‘Would Naseeruddin Shah, Aparna Sen Have Gone Berserk?’
“The day Shekhar Gupta has the courage to speak up against the fake news during COVID-19, then the guild will have some value. Otherwise the group is just of only has-beens,” he challenged.
A few panelists were seen agreeing and even applauding.
The discussion was about an incident that took place on 16 April, when a group of villagers in Palghar district of Maharashtra dragged out three men – which includes two Hindu sadhus – out of their car and beat them to death on suspicion that they were thieves.
Goswami even questioned if certain Bollywood stars would be silent had the victims of Palghar lynching been non-Hindus.
“Let me ask you my dear viewers. If this had happened in a state run by the BJP and if instead of Hindus the ones who’d been lynched, let me be very direct about it, if they had been from any minority community, then would Naseeruddin Shah, Aparna Sen and Anurag Kashyap and all those lots and the award wapsi gang, would they have gone berserk today?”Arnab Goswami, Founding Member of Republic TV
Shekhar Gupta refused to comment when the The Quint reached out for his response.
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